Understanding Culture

Understanding Culture

BECOMING A CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PTA

Why Should We Care To Be Culturally Responsive?

•Increased Community Engagement

•Reduced Misunderstandings

•The Effect of Unconscious Bias

•What Keeps Community Subgroups From Joining, Participating, & Volunteering in PTA?

Why Should We Care To Be Culturally Responsive?

•Cultivating independence and agency in PTA board leaders

•Strengthening all relationships, with more respect, care & kindness

Meet the board members, volunteers, and community members where they are are,

…to help get them to where they need to be.

Understanding Culture - Activity

Thinking On Your Feet

Description Purpose Most Effective Use(s) Validated & Affirmed Cultural Behaviors*

The PTA leader shares a list of questions that have two potential answers or choices.

Participants stand.

Participants move to a place in the room, or side of the table, that corresponds with their answer.

Give board members, volunteers, community members a chance to talk about a current issue or review information being shared

To hear the wisdom of the group

To practice thinking and making decisions.

Lets participants tap into what they already know or have experienced Easy entry to a new challenging concept Good way to review what was discussed or presented Comprehending and analyzing ideas.

Sociocentric Dynamic Attention Span Interpersonal Communalism

Validates volunteers home culture.

*Dr. Sharokky Hollie

Definitions of Culture

Useem, J., & Useem, R. (1963). Human Organizations, 22(3).

"Culture has been defined in a number of ways, but most simply, as the learned and shared behavior of a community of interacting human beings" (p. 169).

Damen, L. (1987). Culture Learning: The Fifth Dimension on the Language Classroom. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

"Culture: learned and shared human patterns or models for living; day- to-day living patterns. these patterns and models pervade all aspects of human social interaction.

Culture is mankind's primary adaptive mechanism" (p. 367).

Personal Culture Mapping

•Many people think culture is ethnicity

•Culture is ethnicity AND:

•Gender

•Where you grew up and where you live now

•What industry you work in and/or volunteer in

•Hobbies / Recreational Activities

•Family / Close Friends

•What Else?

Personal Culture Mapping – Table Activity

•Create your Cultural Map

•Find someone at your table that has the first circle labeled

•Map Sharing

The Human Brain

•The human brain is guided by two interconnected prime directives:

minimize threats

maximize well-being

Our individual definition of what feels threatening/rewarding might be different from our membership, our volunteers, and our board members

The Human Brain

The human brain is hardwired to connect with others

Positive relationships keep our safety detection and threat detection systems in check

• Food

• Visual Arts

• Language

• Performing Arts

• Clothes

• Communication

• Courtesy

• Eye Contact

• Personal Space

• Concept of Time

• Rules of Conduct

• Patterns for

• handling

• emotions

• Proximity

• Non-Verbals

• Conversational patterns

• Tone of Voice

• Patterns of group decision making

• Preferences for cooperation, or competition

Levels of Culture

Discussion Protocols / Movement Activities

•Validate & Affirm*

•Make Legitimate

•Make Positive

•Build & Bridge

•Make connections through training & Beam building activity

•Provide opportunities for Situational Appropriateness

•Tell a story

•Involve Movement

•Small Group or Private Participation

•Large Group Presentation

* Dr. Sharokky Hollie

Choice, Power, and Code Switching

•What has shaped you?

•What cultural group do you belong to?

•Define different identities YOU bring to PTA

•Every person gets to choose how they identify themselves

•Cultural humility acknowledges the uniqueness of each individual

YES NO

“Why & Where”

Why Did You Choose YES or NO?

Where does your opinion come from?

Do You Believe a Firm Handshake is a Good Indicator of Character?

YES NO

“Handshake”

Do You Consider Yourself a REALLY Good Listener?

YES NO

“Good Listener”

Do You Usually Wait Until Someone Has Finished Speaking Before Interjecting Your Own Opinion?

YES NO

“Interjecting”

Do You Enjoy Speaking In Front of Groups of People?

YES NO

“in Front of Groups”

Would Tell a Stranger if They Had Spinach in Their Teeth?

YES NO

“In their teeth”

Do You Prefer to Work Alone, or in a Group?

YES NO

“Alone

Group”

If You Believed You Had Tried Your Best, Yet Achieved 59.4% in a Class, Would You Advocate For a Grade Change?

YES NO

“Grade Change”

Cultural Humility Framework

Awareness is the Beginning Other Focused Partnerships/Relationships

Constant Self Re-Evaluation Build a Community of Continuous Learners

& an Open and Safe PTA Environment

Resources

•Website for more hands on activities and articles to share with your board:

https://www.tolerance.org/

•Children’s book list (for toddlers-teens): http://www.upworthy.com/20-empowering-childrens- books-that-celebrate-diversity-and-social-justice

•Reading list suggested for avid readers’ book club: http://fortune.com/2017/06/30/raceahead- summer-reading-list-2017/

•Personal and Professional development: Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/research-unit/haas-institute-fair-and-inclusive-society

Thank You For Joining Us Today

Information based on an original presentation by J. Williams and J. Parks.

Adapted with permission, by Marilyn Cachola-Lucey, for use by the California State PTA.

For more information, please contact a member of our CAPTA Diversity & Inclusion Team:

Otis Cross –[email protected] Diane Hyland–[email protected]